Destinations

Features

Hotels

Tours

Where to see the world's great astronomical events

Thousands of scientists, stargazers and curious onlookers are gathering in northern Australia for a rare total eclipse. Read our guide to that, and other great astronomical events you can see in the coming months and years. Solar eclipse November 14, 2012 (Australian time) Cloud cover permitting, this total solar eclipse will be visible at dawn from Australia's Northern Territory, the Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Queensland, Cairns and Port Douglas before heading out to sea. Crossing the International Dateline, the eclipse will pass over Chile on the evening of November 13. The moon is due to cover the sun on the evening of November 13, GMT. If you are not already in Australia, there are several live web streams, courtesy of Nasa, the Astronomical Association of Queensland, and Tourism Queensland, from Port Douglas
and Mareeba.